Ventilation assembly

ABSTRACT

A ventilation assembly includes an air intake channel; a delivery channel; a generating device of an air stream between the intake channel and the delivery channel; a filtering section of the air stream to decrease, if not eliminate, the presence of particulate in the air stream. The filtering section includes a filter having a containment body provided with an intake opening and a delivery opening for the air stream passing therethrough, and air-tight bulkheads, arranged inside the containment body and shaped to force the air stream to collide therewith and with the inner walls of the containment body, the bulkheads and the containment body having a section portion suitable for being penetrated by the particulate in the air stream so as to retain it therein.

FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention is generally applicable to the ventilation sectorand refers both to the room ventilation and to the assisted ventilationof people.

More in detail, the present invention relates to the air treatment ofair used for room ventilation or for the assisted breathing of people.

BACKGROUND ART

As known, there is often the need to create an air stream between onepoint and another. Typically, this is achieved by means of ventilationassemblies which create such air stream between an intake channel, whoseinlet draws the air from the area in which it is placed, and a deliverychannel whose outlet supplies the air to the area of interest.

Some examples are the forced ventilation and/or room conditioningassemblies that create an air stream between the outside and a closedroom. Other examples, however, refer to air purifying devices that drawair from the room in which they are and re-inject it into the same roomafter having purified it. Further simpler examples are the assistedbreathing assemblies typically used in the medical field.

In all the aforementioned examples, in addition to the intake channeland the delivery channel, a device designed for generating the airstream between the two is present. Generally, this device is an electricpowered mechanical fan, but it can be of different origin, such as forexample the Ambu bags which are manually operated.

It is also known that air contains elements such as particles andmicro-organisms that compromise its purity. These elements are normallybreathed by people, however they represent a health hazard. In thissense, therefore, the ventilation assemblies typically comprise afiltering section of the air stream designed to retain as much aspossible the particulate and, in some cases, to sanitize the flow itselfby eliminating or reducing its bacterial load.

The known filtering sections are constituted by filtering barrierssuitable for being traversed by the air stream and having a latticesufficiently thin to retain the particulate even of small dimensions. Inother cases, such as in the case of vacuum cleaners, a cyclonic filteris often used. The latter is based on the generation of a cyclonic airstream so that the particulate slams against the filter walls and iscollected by falling.

In all such cases what is observed is that the filtering sectionconstitutes a considerable obstacle to the air stream. For example, inthe case of filtering barriers, the need to filter small particlesrequires the use of a material with very narrow and thick lattice.Therefore, the pressure drop of the air stream is evident. This aspectis of considerable importance since the air stream pressure is typicallyvital for the good operation of the assembly and this forces to adoptair stream generation devices which are more powerful than what would benecessary. This is not only expensive in terms of production costs ofthe ventilation assembly, but also in terms of energy consumption duringuse. It is therefore typically necessary to reach a compromise bysacrificing the quality of filtering. Alternatively, larger filters mustbe provided, which however are very cumbersome and expensive. In thislatter case, however, it influences its use in the biomedical sectorsince their placement with respect to the patient and the machinery isproblematic.

In the case of cyclonic filters, however, collection by falling is notalways effective, so that often they have in any case an additionalfiltering barrier.

Presentation of the Invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome at least partiallythe drawbacks pointed out above by providing a ventilation assemblywhich allows to obtain an outlet air stream in which the presence ofparticulate and bacterial load is at most equal to the equivalentassemblies of the known art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilationassembly whose filtering section has an inferior obstacle to the airstream with respect to the equivalent assemblies of the prior art.

A further object is that the assembly of the invention presents afiltering section which is not cumbersome or which, having the sameoverall dimensions, has a filtering efficiency higher than theequivalent assemblies of the prior art.

Another object is that the assembly of the invention is less expensivethan the known equivalent assemblies both in terms of production costsand in terms of operating costs.

Said objects, as well as others which will become more apparent below,are achieved by a ventilation assembly according to the followingclaims, which are to be considered as an integral part of the presentpatent.

In particular, it comprises at least one air intake channel from thesurrounding room and at least one delivery channel. At least one airstream generating device is operatively connected thereto, which startsfrom the inlet of the intake channel (drawing air from the surroundingarea) and is blown through the outlet of the delivery channel.

According to an aspect of the invention, the assembly includes afiltering section of the air stream to decrease, if not eliminate, thepresence of particulate in the air stream itself. In this sense, thefiltering section can be arranged at any point between the intakechannel inlet and the delivery channel outlet.

According to another aspect of the invention, the filtering sectioncomprises at least one filter having a containment body provided with anintake opening and a delivery opening for the air stream which must passthrough it. The same filter comprises, inside the containment body, oneor more air-tight bulkheads and shaped to force the air stream tocollide with the bulkheads themselves. The latter, however, have atleast a section portion suitable for being penetrated by the particulatein the air stream.

Advantageously, therefore, the collision of air against the walls causesthe collision of the particulate with the same and, consequently,penetrates and remains trapped there. Still advantageously, there is nodanger, as happens in the cyclonic ventilation assemblies, that the airstream takes back in a part of such particulate.

Since the air stream cannot traverse the bulkheads, they typicallyaccompany it from the intake conduit to the delivery conduit.Advantageously, therefore, they do not constitute a serious obstacle tothe passage of air thereby ensuring a lower load than in the prior art.

Still advantageously, the filtering section of the assembly of theinvention is smaller than in the prior art with the same filteringefficiency.

Moreover, since the filters of the assembly of the invention offer areduced obstacle with respect to the filters of the known equivalentventilation assemblies, the assembly of the invention is less expensiveboth in terms of execution costs and in terms of energy consumptionduring the operation step.

According to another aspect of the invention, since it has been saidthat the filters which constitute the filtering section of the inventionare small with respect to the known equivalent filters, in the assemblyof the invention the filtering section comprises two or more filtersarranged operatively in parallel with each other and/or two or morefilters arranged operatively in series with each other. Advantageously,therefore, with the same overall dimensions, the air filteringefficiency of the assembly of the invention is strongly increased withrespect to the equivalent assemblies of the prior art since it derivesfrom the collaboration of multiple filters.

Moreover, in the case of known filters, the filtering efficiency,depending on the size of the lattice, does not benefit greatly byarranging the filters in series. On the contrary, with suchconfiguration the obstacle to the air stream is often increased in anunacceptable manner. In the case of the invention, on the other hand,since the filtering takes place in a different manner, the overallefficiency increases by adding filters in series.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent in light of the detailed description of a preferred but notexclusive embodiment of a ventilation assembly according to theinvention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid ofthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a ventilation assembly according to the invention in aschematic view;

FIGS. 2 and 3 represent some details of the ventilation assembly of FIG.1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show some details of a variant embodiment of theventilation assembly of the invention in a schematic view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the above-mentioned figures, and in particular to FIG.1, described herein is a ventilation assembly 1 according to theinvention.

The ventilation assembly 1 can be used for various purposes. As said,the present invention is not limited to assemblies with forcedventilation of mechanical or electromechanical origin, but also todifferently operated assemblies such as those operated manually.

In any case, like all such assemblies, even that of the inventioncomprises at least an air intake channel 2 from the room surrounding theopening of the intake channel 2 itself. There is also a delivery channel3 for blowing the air at the destination, where the destination may bethe oral cavity of a person or a closed room where there is a need toreplace or condition the air.

The assembly 1 of the invention further comprises an air streamgenerating device 4 between the intake channel 2 and the deliverychannel 3.

As mentioned above, the generating device 4 can be constructed indifferent ways. For example, it can consist of a fan or a vacuum pump ora manually operated Ambu bag. In other words, the embodiment of such acomponent can be of any type and should not be considered as limitingfor the invention since what matters is that the generating device 4generates the air stream between the intake channel 2 and the deliverychannel 3. It follows that the ventilation assembly 1 of the inventionis typically of the type for forced ventilation.

It is also apparent that the number of intake and delivery channels aswell as the number of air stream generating devices are not limitingfeatures of the present invention since in the described ventilationassembly, they may be in any quantity whatsoever according to therequirements of use.

According to an aspect of the invention, the assembly 1 also comprises afiltering section 5 of the air stream to decrease, if not cancel, thepresence of particulate in the air coming out from the delivery channel3.

For this purpose, it is apparent that the positioning of such filteringsection 5 is irrelevant for the purposes of the invention. In otherwords, it can be arranged at any point between the inlet end 8 of theintake channel 2 and the outlet end 9 of the delivery channel 3.

Also, the number of filtering sections is not to be intended as alimiting characteristic for the invention since in the ventilationassembly that is described they can also be in any quantity whatsoeveraccording to the requirements of use.

According to another aspect of the invention, the filtering section 5comprises at least one filter 10, visible in FIG. 2, having acontainment body 12 provided with an intake opening 13 and a deliveryopening 14 for the air stream passing through it. Typically, thecontaining body 10 has a cylindrical shape, but even this aspect mustnot be considered as limiting for the invention, the shaping of thecontainment body being of any type. Also, the number of intake anddelivery openings are non-limiting characteristics of the invention,such openings being able to be in any number whatsoever.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the filter 10 comprises,inside it, a bulkhead 15 visible in FIG. 3. It is air-tight and shapedto force the air stream to collide with it and with the inner walls ofthe containment body 12 in transit between the intake opening 13 and thedelivery opening 14. Furthermore, the bulkhead 15 and the inner walls ofthe containment body 12 have a section portion, starting from thesurface of the bulkhead 15, suitable to be penetrated by the particulatepresent in the air stream.

Advantageously, therefore, the bulkheads 15 are arranged in such a waythat the air stream follows a path which causes it to have one or morecollisions with them and with the aforementioned inner walls. However,since both the bulkhead 15 and the containment body 12 are air-tight,the bulkhead 15 typically accompanies the air stream between the intakeopening 13 and the delivery opening 14 thus constituting a minimumobstacle to such flow with respect to known filters where the air streammust pass through the bulkhead. Still advantageously, the collisions ofthe air stream with the bulkhead 15 and the walls of the containmentbody 12 also lead also the particulate and the bacteria that the streamitself carries to collide with them. Due, therefore, to the sectionportion, they penetrate into the bulkhead 15 and into the containmentbody 12 and are retained there. Therefore, the risk, as in the cyclonicfilters, that a part of the particulate is collected again by the airstream and brought to the delivery opening 14 is avoided.

As a consequence, not only does the filter 10 constitute a lower loadcompared to the known technique for the air stream, softly affecting thepressure of the same, but also allows to obtain an excellent filteringefficiency obtaining at least equal results, if not generally higher, toknown equivalent filters.

Typically, the section portion suitable for retaining the particulate inthe air stream consists of a layer of material with viscoelasticfeatures arranged to cover the surface of the bulkhead 15 and the innerwalls of the containment body 12. An example, in this sense, is the useof water-based or fat-based gel. However, this feature should not beconsidered as a limiting feature for the invention. The section portionsubjected to collisions, in fact, can be made differently. According toanother embodiment, in fact, the bulkhead and containment body are madeof a single material and the section portion consists of a superficialsoftening of the material itself. According to another embodiment of theinvention, the whole bulkhead can be penetrated by the particulate.

According to another aspect of the invention, however, a portion of thebulkhead 15 is ionized to attract and retain ionized particulates, butalso this feature of the invention should not be considered as limiting.

It is apparent that also the number of bulkheads in the filter 10 is nota limiting feature for the invention since they can be in any quantitywhatsoever according to the purposes of use of the ventilation assembly1.

However, according to a further aspect of the invention, the shaping ofthe bulkhead 15 is made in such a way as to promote not only collisionsof the air stream with itself, but also the passage of such stream fromthe intake opening 13 to the delivery opening 14. In this sense,according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention represented inthe figures, the bulkhead 15 has a helical shape. This allows,advantageously, to reduce the obstacle opposite to the air stream intransit and at the same time, generating turbulence, to promote thegreatest number of collisions between the particulate contained thereinand the bulkhead 15.

Obviously, even such aspect must not be considered as limiting for theinvention. The bulkheads, in fact, can be shaped in any way providedthat they constitute the smallest possible obstacle to the air streamand the most equal to the equivalent filters of the prior art. It isapparent that any shaping is able to generate turbulence inside thefilter 10 and it satisfies the purpose correctly.

For example, according to another embodiment of the invention, not shownin the drawings, the bulkheads are more than one and shaped to provide alabyrinthine path for the air stream.

Moreover, according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention,also not shown in the figures, the helical bulkhead has a variable anddecreasing pitch between the intake opening and the delivery opening. Inthis case, advantageously, there is a progressive reduction of thepassage section and a further increase in turbulence effect.

According to a further aspect of the invention, however, a turbulencegenerator is present close to the intake opening 13 of the filter 10,although not shown in the figures. According to some exemplaryembodiments, the latter consists of aerodynamic profiles having thefunction of generating controlled turbulence. This allows,advantageously, to be able to shape the bulkheads 15 so as to reduce thehead losses while maintaining an excellent turbulence value inside thefilter 10. Said profiles can be, according to different embodiments ofthe invention, multiples and with a differentiated passage section (alsodecreasing to obtain a blowing effect).

As it has been seen, therefore, the filter 10 of the filtering section 5has, with the same operation effectiveness on the air stream, smallerdimensions than in the prior art. This allows, using the same overalldimensions, to use several filters 10 in combination.

In this sense, according to a variant embodiment of the inventionrepresented in FIG. 4, the filtering section 105 comprises a firstplurality 120 of filters 110 operatively arranged in parallel with eachother. In this way, advantageously, the operation of the filters 110 onthe air stream is partitioned by reducing the obstacle offered to thestream itself (and thus decreasing the negative effect on the streampressure).

As a result, according to another aspect of the invention, theembodiment variant also has the arrangement, operatively in series, offirst plurality 120 of filters 110 which, as can also be inferred fromFIG. 5, allows to increase the filtering efficiency of the air stream.

Advantageously, therefore, it is possible to choose to arrange multiplefilters 110 operatively in series and/or in parallel to keep the impacton the air stream pressure low while increasing the filteringefficiency.

It is evident that the combination in series and parallel betweenfilters and filter groups may be of any type without departing from thescope of protection of the present patent.

To point out these aspects, it should be noted that some examples offilters of the known art have diameters having sections with a diameterin order of 10 cm and lengths also in the order of 10 cm. In the case ofthe invention, an equivalent filter 10 has a section with a diameter of1 cm and a length even less than a centimetre. It is evident, therefore,that in the same volume numerous filters 10 according to the inventioncan be arranged in parallel and in series. In particular, ten filters 10can be arranged in series on a single line, substantially increasing thefiltering efficiency tenfold.

Operatively, therefore, the generating device 4 induces an air streambetween the intake channel 2 and the delivery channel 3 by drawing airfrom the outside. When the air stream passes through the filteringsection 5, it passes through the filter 10. The helical conformation ofthe bulkhead 15 accompanies the air stream towards the outlet of thefilter 10 with a minimum obstacle.

However, the turbulence that is created causes collisions between thesuspended particulate in the air stream and the bulkhead 15. Theparticulate then penetrates the bulkhead 15 and remains trapped there.

In light of the foregoing, it is understood that the ventilationassemblies of the invention reach all the intended purposes.

In particular, it allows to obtain an outlet air stream in which thepresence of particulate and bacterial load is at most equal to theequivalent assemblies of the prior art while presenting a reducedobstacle to the air stream with respect to the equivalent assemblies ofthe known art.

Ultimately the assembly of the invention presents a filtering sectionwhich is not cumbersome or which, having the same overall dimensions,has a filtering efficiency higher than the equivalent assemblies of theprior art. It is also less expensive both in terms of production costsand in terms of operating costs.

The invention might be subject to many changes and variants, which areall included in the appended claims. Moreover, all the details mayfurthermore be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, andthe materials may be different depending on the needs, without departingfrom the protection scope of the invention defined by the appendedclaims.

1. A ventilation assembly comprising: an intake channel (2) of air froma surrounding room; a delivery channel (3); a generating device (4) ofan air stream between said intake channel (2) and delivery channel (3);and a filtering section (5; 105) of the air stream to decrease oreliminate a presence of particulate in the air stream, said filteringsection (5; 105) being operatively positioned at any point of theventilation assembly (1) between an inlet end (8) of said intake channel(2) and an outlet end (9) of said delivery channel (3), wherein saidfiltering section (5; 105) comprises at least one filter (10; 110)having: a containment body (12) provided with an intake opening (13) anda delivery opening (14) for the air stream passing therethrough; and oneor more air-tight bulkheads (15), arranged within said containment body(12) and shaped to force the air stream to collide with said one or morebulkheads (15) and with inner walls of said containment body (12), saidone or more bulkheads (15) and said containment body (12) having atleast a section portion suitable to be penetrated by the particulate inthe air stream so as to retain the particulate therein, said one or morebulkheads (15) identifying a path free of obstacles for the air streambetween said intake opening (13) and said delivery opening (14).
 2. Theventilation assembly according to claim 1, wherein said section portionof said one or more bulkheads (15) comprises a material withviscoelastic features arranged to cover said one or more bulkheads (15).3. The ventilation assembly according to claim 1, wherein said sectionportion of said one or more bulkheads is constituted by a softenedportion of said bulkheads.
 4. The ventilation assembly according toclaim 1, wherein at least a portion of said one or more bulkheads (15)is ionized to attract and retain ionized particles.
 5. The ventilationassembly according to claim 1, wherein said one or more bulkheads (15)have a helical development.
 6. The ventilation assembly according toclaim 1, further comprising at least one turbulence generator arrangedproximal to said intake opening of said filter.
 7. The ventilationassembly according to claim 1, wherein said containment body (12) isshaped as a cylinder.
 8. The ventilation assembly according to claim 1,wherein said at least one filter in said filtering section (105)comprises two or more of said filters (110) operatively arranged inparallel with each other.
 9. The ventilation assembly according to claim1, wherein said at least one filter in said filtering section (105)comprises two or more of said filters (110) operatively arranged inseries with each other.
 10. The ventilation assembly according to claim1, wherein said generating device (4) of said air stream comprises amechanical fan.